The following table is a timeline of the major events in the Church in Australia. You need to copy and paste the events in to Keynote to make a timeline. Use hyperlinks to link the dates to the events in the timelines. If you can't remember how to use hyperlinks, use the help menu.
| 1788 |
Arrival of First Fleet in Sydney |
| First Christian service in Australia conducted by Richard Johnson, an Anglican chaplain. |
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| Louis le Receveur, a Franciscan friar with a French expedition, dies and is buried in Botany Bay. |
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| 1793 |
First Australian church built in Sydney. |
| 1803 |
First public mass offered by James Dixon, a convict priest. |
| 1804 |
Revolt of Irish convicts at Castle Hill leads to banning of Catholic services. |
| 1809 |
Ebenezer Church of Hawkesbury River built for Presbyterian worship (the oldest Australian church still in use today). |
| 1810 |
Congregationalists begin holding services in Sydney. |
| 1812 |
Methodists begin holding meetings in Sydney. |
| 1814 |
The Native Institution for aboriginal Children is opened at Parramatta (it closed in 1826). |
| 1820 |
John Therry and Phillip Connolly arrive in Sydney, the first Catholic priests to serve in Australia with the approval of the British Government. |
| 1821 |
The first missionary to Aboriginal people, William Walker, arrives in Sydney. |
| 1829 |
The English Parliament publishes the Catholic Emancipation Act, which gives Catholics the same political rights as Protestants. |
| 1831 |
Australia's first recorded Baptist Church service held in Sydney. |
| 1832 |
Quakers arrive in Sydney and begin holding meetings the following year in Hobart. |
| 1835 |
John Bede Polding becomes the first Catholic Bishop in Australia (he later became Archbishop in 1842). |
| 1836 |
William Broughton consecrated as Australia's first Anglican Bishop. |
| Govenor Richard Bourke passes the Chruch Act which ends domination of the Church in England and allows funding for all the main denominations. |
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| 1838 |
The Sisters of Charity arrive in Sydney, the first religious order to serve in Australia. |
| Caroline Chisolm arrives in Australia and begins assisting immigrants in New South Wales. |
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| The first large group of Lutheran immigrants settle at Klemzaig, near Adelaide, South Australia. |
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| 1844 |
Australia's first permanent synagogue opens in Sydney. |
| 1846 |
Australia's first Church of Christ established by British migrants in South Australia. |
| Rosendo Salvado begins New Norica Mission in Western Australia. |
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| 1850 |
Unitarians begin meeting in Sydney. |
| 1851 |
Australian gold rushes begin. |
| Official missionaries representing the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (mormons) arrive in Sydney. |
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| 1854 |
The St. Vincent De Paul Society begins working in Australia. |
| 1857 |
John Bede Polding founds the Good Samaritan Sisters, an Australian Catholic order. |
| 1866 |
Mary MacKillop and Julian Tnison Woods begin the sisters of St Joseph, an Australian Catholic Order. |
| 1871 |
Representatives of the London Missionary Society arrive in the islands of the Torres Strait. |
| 1872 |
Victoria becomes the the first colony to end government funding to religious schools (Western Australia was the last, in 1895). |
| 1880 |
The Salvation Army comes to Australia, holding their first meeting in Adelaide. |
| 1882 |
The Women's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) begins work in Australia. |
| 1885 |
Patrick Francis Moran becomes Australia's first Cardinal. |
| Charles Strong establishes the progressive Australian Church in Melbourne. |
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| 1886 |
Seventh Day Adventists open first Australian church in Melbourne. |
| 1890 |
First Australian mosque founded in Adelaide. |
| Decade of depression begins, with bank crashes, strikes and high unemployment. |
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| 1891 |
An institution for Australian deaconesses is founded in Sydney. |
| Arrival of first Melkite priest in Australia. |
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| 1896 |
The first Greek Orthodox priest comes to Australia and conducts services in Melbourne and Sydney. |
| 1897 |
The Church of England begins establishing bush brotherhoods. |
| 1898 |
Foundation stone for Australia's first Orthodox Church laid in Surry Hills, NSW. |
| Christian scientists begin holding services in Melbourne. |
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| 1901 |
Federation of Australia. |
| Presbyterian groups unite to form the Presbyterian Church of Australia. |